


Patience

by fukawas, pixihawk



Category: Love Live! School Idol Project
Genre: Alternate Universe - Soulmates, Digital Art, F/F, Fluff, Love Live Big Bang 2016, Romantic Soulmates, Set Up (Kotori is the mastermind), Soulmate-Identifying Marks, alternative title: how garasu no hanazono was really created, glowing lesbians, nicomaki kotohonoumi and rinpana are secondary pairings, polyamory mentioned
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-10-31
Updated: 2016-10-31
Packaged: 2018-08-28 05:21:52
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 6,254
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/8433382
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/fukawas/pseuds/fukawas, https://archiveofourown.org/users/pixihawk/pseuds/pixihawk
Summary: Entry for the 2016 Love Live Big Bang! | Soulmate AU: Once a strong bond has formed between two (or sometimes more) destined partners, a unique tattoo will appear on their hands. From then on, the lines are always visible, but whenever the soulmates touch each others' hands, they glow in a magical light. |All members of u's have found a soulmate - with the exception of Nozomi and Eli. Through a sneaky plan developed by Kotori to create an ideal scenario for the two remaining girls, Nozomi and Eli find themselves in an interesting situation - they are supposed to write a love song together!Nozomi, anxious about the uncertainty of Eli being her destined one, tries to figure out her feelings for her best friend and why they aren't soulmates yet. Something she certainly wasn't expecting was how the live performance of their romantic duet was going to be a truly magical one...





	

**Author's Note:**

> hey everyone!
> 
> this is @nbhawke's and my entry for this year's love live big bang! we developed the story together, i wrote it and he designed the beautiful fanart. check out his art on nbhawke-art.tumblr.com!  
> the big bang is an event where a writer and an artist are randomly (as long as both are willing to write/draw similar things) paired up - which why it was even funnier that he, my irl best friend, and i ended up as partners for this event. it did take some of the pressure away, though!  
> i love soulmate au's, so when we he came up with the idea, i was on board immediately and thought it'd be great to combine it with garasu no hanazono.
> 
> this is also the first time i've written something so long and english is not my first language, but i'm fairly happy with it and hope you enjoy it.
> 
> thanks for reading!!

 

 

“I think we should go with a love song!”

A surprised outcry was the response to Kotori's suggestion. With a big concert coming up the nine u's members had been brainstorming for the last few days. In between everyone being lovebirds, making dinner plans and discussing how long the new skirts would have to be so Umi wouldn't be uncomfortable, they hadn't been able to come to a conclusion.

But a love song?

Even Nozomi had to admit that was a little daring – after all, the last time they tried to write one, it ended with a lot of drama and an agreement to keep this topic private. But now that pretty much all members of the group had found a soulmate, Kotori must have thought it was just natural to give it another try - they all had experience in that matter after all.

Well, everyone except herself and her best friend Eli, Nozomi realized.

This was not going to be pleasant if she wanted to avoid the topic without everyone being able to figure out that she was heartbroken about not having formed a bond with her soulmate yet. As much as she didn't want to admit it, her fear of it being someone other than Eli grew stronger with every touch connecting her hand to Eli's and no tattoo appearing on their skin.

She had heard the other couples’ stories. They all talked about how wonderful they thought their tattoo was on its own, but it’s true beauty was only revealed when the soulmates touched each other’s hand. Their skin connecting caused the tattoo’s lines to shine in a warm light that, from what the others had been saying, created a feeling of comfort and unity with their partner.  
Nozomi was happy for all of their friends, of course, but whenever she saw the light radiating from a couples’ connected hands, she couldn’t help but feel envious.

After the first surprise, the girls took a moment to think about the suggestion.

 “I think it's a great idea, meow!” Rin stood up and threw her fist in the air. “I was surprised, but it makes sense! And I'd love to bring my feelings for Kayochin onto the stage.”  
“R-rin...” Hanayo blushed, but seemed to have no intent of disagreeing.

One after another, the members agreed that it would be a great practice to further strengthen their bonds and appreciate the love they had found in each other.

However, there was one other person besides Nozomi who had decided not to comment on the idea. Eli too had stayed quiet until she was directly asked by Honoka. She simply nodded in agreement, though it was hardly convincing.

Nozomi didn't dare to voice her concerns. It was selfish of her to even consider this, she thought, since everyone else seemed really cheerful and it would be a wonderful way of presenting how happy the girls were with their soulmates.

Maki and Nico of course were a little too proud to openly admit how much affection they held for each other, but every once in a while they could be seen holding hands on their way home from school, their tattoos giving off a soft glow and seemingly melting into one abstract picture.

Rin had always been very open about her feelings for Hanayo, so it was no surprise when their bond proved strong enough to make them soulmates.

And finally, the second years Honoka, Kotori and Umi, while surprised that all three of them were meant for each other, gladly accepted that they had one more partner to share their love with than the others.

Though none of them ever said so outright, Nozomi had noticed the somewhat concerned looks her friends gave her from time to time, despite them insisting that she would soon find her soulmate and should stop worrying so much. And Nozomi tried, she tried so hard, but the uncertainty ate her alive. She never wanted to think about Eli being destined for anyone but her, and she couldn't understand why their deep friendship wasn't enough. She kept wondering if there was something she was doing wrong.  
  
She shook her head slightly to get those thoughts out of her head. This was not the time for her to worry about this, she convinced herself.

Eventually, the other girls noticed her silence and looked at her in anticipation. Nozomi put on her most innocent smile and just stated: “Sure.”

 “Great, then it's set!” Honoka smiled and clapped her hands together.  
“Hold on”, Kotori interrupted, “I have one more thing I'd like to say about that. Umi always writes our lyrics, and Maki is responsible for the music itself, right? I think we should mix it up a little.”  
“What do you mean?”, Eli asked.

Kotori smiled almost a little too much, Nozomi noticed, especially considering what she said next.

 “It's great that you're the one asking, Eli. I know you and Nozomi have your hands full with the student council, but during our other performance preparations we realized that almost all of us will be really busy during the next week. And I think we should try something to really excite our fans. So, I propose that you and Nozomi are the ones to write the lyrics to this song. With the support of Umi, if you really need it, but I do believe that you could come up with something great..”

Kotori stood up with a determined expression on her face.

 “In fact”, she continued, “let's take it a step further. We announced we'd perform a new song, but no one said it had to be a _group_ song. You two haven't had a duet yet. So, let's just combine both ideas! Think you can do that and write and perform a love song?”

Nozomi stared at her in shock. She couldn’t believe what she just heard - this would be way too awkward and there was no way she'd be able to hide her feelings in a situation like this! She was already afraid of overstepping her boundaries with Eli during their normal day-to-day routine, which was why she had stopped being as affectionate towards her as she had been before she realized her feelings for her.  
  
And now she was supposed to write a love song with her…?

 “I have to admit, I think it would probably be pretty popular with the fans”, Umi speculated.  
Maki, twirling her hair, murmured: “I agree. I'm glad Nico and I didn't have to perform something this embarrassing, but you and Kotori did a good job back when you performed Anemone Heart.”  
 “Embarrassing? Excuse me? You should be proud of being able to sing with your super cute idol girlfriend Nico!”, Makis girlfriend yelled and stood up, trying to get to her, but Umi was able to hold her back, blushing due to being reminded of her performance with Kotori.

They hadn’t been soulmates at the time, otherwise they would have sung a song as a trio with Honoka, so Nozomi couldn’t find a good excuse as to why she and Eli shouldn’t be doing the same thing.

Nico sat back down, but she and Maki continued to glare at each other. 

 _You wouldn't believe these two are actually dating_ , Nozomi thought and had to giggle before she remembered the situation she was in. After all, there was no way she'd be able to talk herself out of it without either hurting Eli's feelings or having to admit the only reason why she didn't want to do it was because she was scared of her own feelings.

Eventually, both Eli and Nozomi just sighed and agreed.

Nozomi didn't dare to look at her best friend once during the whole discussion out of fear that she would find something that told her Eli would never want to work on something romantic with her. They would just have to deal with this professionally, Nozomi decided.

She wasn't some lovesick fool who couldn't hide her obvious affection once she was alone in a possibly romantic situation with Eli. Right?

 

The next few days were torture for Nozomi, though she did her best not to show it. Eli had been behaving as usual, they still texted each other a lot, worked together in the student council and went home from school together. However, the other u's members had set them a time limit as to when they needed the lyrics for the new song in order for the preparations to be done until the concert and for them to have enough time to rehearse.

The due date came closer and closer, but the girls had hardly talked about their new task – which was unusual especially for the ambitious and responsible Eli, Nozomi realized.

On the third day without progress, Eli finally approached Nozomi after class. Nozomi's heart skipped a beat, once because her friend looked especially pretty today, and another time because she could already tell what the topic of discussion would be.

 “Hey, Nozomi. Can I talk to you for a moment?”  
 “Always, Elicchi”, Nozomi smiled, trying to appear as unconcerned as possible.  
 “You know I don't like to postpone responsibilities, but I noticed you were really absent-minded the last few days, so I didn't confront you about it. I think we really need to get to work, though. If we can't come up with anything, we can still ask Umi or the others for support.”  
“Sure”, Nozomi nodded, “we can get to work whenever you want. I was just worrying about the midterms coming up, you know.” This was an obvious lie, since Nozomi never had much trouble in school, but Eli didn’t bother pointing it out.

Eli smiled and squished Nozomi's arm in encouragement. “Great. Let's find a teacher after school to open up a classroom for us. I gotta go now, Umi asked me to help with some organizational stuff.”  
 “Alright, see you later, Elicchi!”

 

The girls met after school and found a teacher to open an empty classroom for them where they could concentrate.

 “Okay, so, I think the first thing we have to determine is from whose perspective we want to be writing. I liked the way Nico and Maki wrote their song, it almost seemed like a real conversation. But maybe we should try something different to surprise the audience. How about completely focusing on the emotions of both partners who share the same sentiment?”  
 “If that's what you want to do, let's do it.” Nozomi agreed because she didn't want to admit it was a difficult topic for her, but she also had to admit it was very tempting.

Writing a personal love song as a duet with the girl she was in love with sounded like a dream come true – except she still didn't know if Eli was the one she was supposed to spend the rest of her life with.

The friends, working together as well as they always did due to having known each other for so long, quickly decided that the song should convey a melancholic and longing emotion.

Nozomi, hoping to be as subtle as possible about the whole thing being _a bit_ too personal, decided to just go all-in and added the idea of a love that has to remain secret.

She figured the other members of u’s as well as people all over the world could find themselves in the lyrics of a lonely girl reaching out to find love while being too scared to admit her feelings openly.

 “All right, I think the atmosphere is one of the most important aspects and I’ve already took notes for some ideas. We’re making good progress.”

Nozomi nodded.

 “We're working really quickly, aren't we? Then again, anyone trying to work with you has to be really quick and focused on their work. You're always so ambitious, Elicchi!”, she teased.  
  
Spending the time alone with her friend was more comfortable than she expected. No matter how nervous the whole soulmate-thing made her, Eli's presence still managed to feel like home; the one person who made her feel safe and loved, no matter in what way.

All members of muse were extremely close to Nozomi's heart, of course. After all she was the one who had brought them together despite Honoka starting the club. But still, it was her childhood friend who managed to be the one Nozomi wanted to spend the rest of her life with – whether a tattoo on both their hands appeared or not wouldn't keep her from making this decision.

And yet she found herself thinking about hardly anything else these days.

A relationship would be extremely difficult under these circumstances. A relationship between people who hadn’t turned out to be soulmates yet were harshly criticized by society, in addition to the personal problems it could cause. It worked out for some people, and many of them formed a bond when they were already in a relationship, but the general opinion was that it was associated with too much uncertainty.

It was just so _frustrating_ not knowing whether she was just being impatient or whether she would have to figure out a way to accept Eli not being her destined partner.

Eli raised an eyebrow and responded: “I think it's rather the fact that you're for once concentrating on what you're supposed to do instead of nagging the other girls.”

She smiled, but Nozomi already knew she was just teasing her back and not actually criticizing her.

 “Whatever you say.”

Nozomi's small giggle got stuck in her throat when Eli moved her chair closer to her, touching Nozomi's hand in the attempt to grab the blank paper in front of her.

  


All her worries came flooding back whenever their hands touched. Due to Nozomi usually being affectionate, it had happened countless times before, but these days every touch meant another possibility of graceful lines appearing on their skin for the first time, confirming what she had been hoping for.

And once again, nothing happened, their skin remaining blank.

While Eli never seemed to worry about it, Nozomi noticed every single time. As much as she wanted to touch her, every gesture that yielded no result disappointed her and made her fear the chance that it might never happen.

 _No. You cannot focus on that right now_ , Nozomi scolded herself. _There will be many more opportunities. It doesn't mean it's someone other than Eli. It doesn't mean someone other than me is meant for Eli.  
_

_It doesn't.  
_

_It can't_ _._

 “Hmm, I think we should make use of some metaphors and symbolism as well”, Eli pondered and chewed on the end of her pencil.

Nozomi, snapping out of her thoughts, quickly nodded and proposed: “We want to convey melancholy, right? So, while the chorus could repeatedly emphasize the loneliness and pain, our stanzas could refer to a beautiful garden, maybe with a swing in it? I feel like it would remind our listeners of their childhood when these problems seemed so mundane. The flowery garden would also imply that their love, despite being painful at times, is something wonderful at its core.”

Eli looked up from the blank paper and straight at Nozomi who was surprised to see an extremely impressed look on the blonde's face. Eli was silent for a second before she gasped a quiet “ _wow_ ”.

She started to write down what Nozomi's input apparently inspired her to, and mumbled: “I'm quite impressed, Nozomi. I always think I know you so well, and then you surprise me over and over again.”

 “Really?” Nozomi was glad the other was focusing on working on the lyrics, so she wouldn't have to hide her blushing face.

 “Yeah, I don't mean that I underestimate you or anything. I just know we both have some...”, she stopped for a second and cleared her throat, “issues with emotional matters. So I really appreciate you being able to express yourself through music whenever you're not able to talk about your own problems.”

Nozomi decided not to comment on that in the fear of either protesting too much or too little about the fact that she could relate to the lyrics they were working on more than she should.

 “Oh, are you trying to see right through me again? I wouldn't be so confident if I were you. I can be creative without any hidden meaning for you to uncover.”

 Eli covered her lips and let out a playful giggle, unusually cute for the often rather serious girl.

 “I'm not so sure about that, Nozomi. But as long as it produces such amazing results, I'm not going to condemn you for not talking to me about what has been going on with you lately. For now at least.”

 “Let's agree on that. Except, I don't plan on making this a solo. I bet the hardworking Elicchi doesn't like knowing that she let someone else do all the work for her.”

Nozomi leaned closer and winked, too invested in the mutual teasing to even think about what this could lead to in any other situation.

Her friend frowned, unable to ignore the truth in the statement, just as Nozomi had expected. She felt a little guilty for pulling this card, but she definitely didn't want to be the only one to pour her most private feelings into the song. And it wasn't just for self-protection – she had to admit she was really curious about how Eli would approach the topic, if she too would reveal a new side of herself and let this song become a very personal one.

Eli straightened her shirt and turned her slightly offended expression into a determined one.

 “I guess that sounds like a challenge. You know I can't turn down a good challenge, don't you, Nozomi?”

Well, this was certainly going to be interesting. Trying to one-up each other in writing romantic lyrics was something she didn't exactly expect to ever do with Eli. Not that she was complaining.

 _I shouldn't have avoided this for so long. Why did I ever worry about it becoming awkward?,_ Nozomi wondered while lovingly gazing at her best friend who had started taking notes on what she wanted to contribute to the song on a separate piece of paper.  
_I've known her for so long. I can't believe I was scared something like this would make us feel uncomfortable around each other. There's nothing in the world that could cause that._

It was only late afternoon when Eli and Nozomi had almost finished the whole song. Originally, they had planned to complete the piece within a couple of days, but after their brainstorming of what they wanted to convey with their duet, it almost wrote itself.

Eli showed the side of herself that Nozomi had hoped to see. She too got invested in the topic and both generally had the same ideas. Although Eli seemed more relaxed than her about writing a love song, Nozomi had to wonder how she could be able to come up with such fascinatingly beautiful lyrics without ever having experienced the feelings she was writing about.

The blonde was polishing the final draft while Nozomi found herself contemplating just _asking_ her.

It would be daring for sure, especially considering Eli usually wasn't too fond of talking about her emotions. Then again, it should be natural for close friends to discuss these matters, and Nozomi wasn't particularly scared of making her uncomfortable, either. They had been through too much together to be bothered by personal questions, but it was rather the fact that Eli might get suspicious of her excessive interest, or worse, that she might admit to having feelings for someone.

 _Because if she does_ , Nozomi speculated, _it can't be me. If it was, why aren't we soulmates by now?_

 “All done now! Even our mixed handwriting looks pretty, and the way we divided the chorus and stanzas looks so organized!”

Eli cleaned up the spare papers and pencils and stood up, smiling at the handwritten text in front of her.

 “I see your inner perfectionist is content with the results. I'm surprised, too. It's not an easy topic now, is it, Elicchi?”

 “You tell me. You inspired me with how you expressed your emotions and put it into something artistic is all I can say.”

 “Oh, I'm sure that's how-” Nozomi stopped mid-sentence. Her eyes widened as she realized what Eli had just implied.

 “Wait. _My_ emotions? You know I don't have any experience in that matter. You certainly didn't hold back either so you might try being careful with those speculations”, Nozomi countered. She tried to stay as relaxed as possible as Eli looked down on her. Her friend was getting a little too cheeky about the whole thing.

Eli just chuckled and finally dropped the topic for the moment. Her hand brushed against the other girl's shoulder as she grabbed her bag and decided: “Let's go home together and get some rest, shall we?”

 

It was Saturday, the night before the performance. Nozomi was lying in bed wide awake, her thoughts circling around tomorrow’s performance.  
  
While the songwriting itself had gone so much better than she expected, she couldn't help but worry how the audience would react to the song. It was going to imply so many things that may not be the truth, but the scenario was something she had dreamed about, for sure. She was looking forward to it, she realized after catching herself having daydreams of the ideal outcome for the performance.

_Don't get your hopes up, Nozomi!_

No matter how many times she attempted to accept her relationship with Eli the way it was, the anxiety of someone – an actual soulmate - eventually being closer to her than Nozomi was, nagged her day and night.

The whole Sunday felt like it was dragging on forever, but Nozomi was mostly able to keep her mind on the last rehearsals and the preparations kept her occupied.

Their duet would be the surprising finale of the concert – it was something they hadn't announced before and Kotori had smirked a bit suspiciously as she explained that they wanted this particular performance to imprint on the audience's memory.

One song after another passed so quickly and consumed all of Nozomi's attention, leaving her no time to ponder over her upcoming duet.

Then, much more sudden that she had expected, it was time and Eli was standing in front of her.  
  
Her hair was a little messy from all the dancing, but she didn’t seem overly nervous. Nozomi's eyes were drawn to her, standing there in the simple school uniform they had chosen for their performance.  
  
Eli was the prettiest person she knew, always wanting to seem perfect to everyone around her, which was why Nozomi loved seeing her like this. Her hair not on point for once, her make-up a little smudged, some sweat glowing on her forehead. She still looked flawless to Nozomi, but in a more natural and honest way.

Eli smiled as she noticed her friend's gaze.

 “Ready?”

 _Absolutely not_ , Nozomi thought, but the other seemed so confident that she didn't want to let her down.

 “I'm always ready to perform with you”, she responded instead.

It was true, technically, but this time it was a bit more complicated. Would the audience be able to tell that she really meant what she was singing? Conveying their songs in a way that everyone believed their emotions were sincere was really important for u's. But singing a duet about love with someone she _was_ in love with but couldn't confess to out of fear her feelings wouldn't be returned – on top of the fact that a relationship between two people who weren't soulmates (yet) could cause a lot of problems – was something else altogether.

Eli flashed her an encouraging smile and took her hand. Nozomi tried to focus on the others' gentle eyes rather than once again checking whether the touch made the tattoos appear that she had been waiting for. 

She squeezed Eli's hand tightly and was surprised to find her friend blushing slightly, and not from the heat of the previous performances – she actually seemed a little shy as she leaned closer and whispered: “ _Let's make it believable_.”

Nozomi only realized that Eli had planted a quick peck on her cheek when it was already over.

The curtain lifted, giving her no time to process what just happened. The adrenaline of the immediate start of one of the most important performances of her life mixed with the shock over the surprisingly affectionate gesture.

_Eli wouldn't be teasing me like this to make fun of me._

The girls, still holding hands, walked forward to greet the cheering crowd.

_But she also isn't naive enough to think that what she just did seemed nothing more than platonic._

The spotlights blinded her for a moment as her eyes adjusted to the brightness.

_Alright, Elicchi._

She turned around, standing back to back with the girl she was in love with, still not letting go of her hand.

_Let's make it believable._

And finally, the music started.  
  
_A maze of dreams... A maze of lilies..._  
_When your eyes filled with longing_  
_Are searching far away_  
_I feel such loneliness  
__And want to tell you I'm right here_

  
_Ah! Just the two of us, to the Garden of Glass_  
_There's no one else; we don't need anyone else  
_ _I want to bloom softly as if I'm about to break_

The girls now faced the audience side by side.

Contented and lonely.

It was precisely how Nozomi felt, and for once, she truly realized that this was not a contradiction. In the past month the loneliness had almost taken over her when she was over-thinking her emotions for Eli – if they were returned, or even allowed should they not turn out to be soulmates.

 _On our secret swing_  
_Swinging with you now_  
_Just gazing at each other softly_  
_A girl who's fallen in love with love; her quiet sigh is  
__Lonely... contented and lonely..._

 _So that your heart that I wish to capture_  
_Won't go anywhere_  
_Please stay here with me forever  
_ _It's lonely_

Nozomi felt a little sting in her chest as she was singing to the audience, Eli and her now parting to face different sides of the stage now. There was distance between them, not facing each other to capture the crowd in the idea of the loneliness and melancholy of a hidden romance.

She recognized how the song perfectly fit what her relationship with Eli was if she really did return her feelings.  
  
_Ah! In the maze of dreams, the glass butterflies_  
_While tempting me, they're being tempted  
__I'll flap my fingers, as though they're about to break_

Almost halfway through the song, Nozomi stopped focusing on everything going on around her.

The girls came back together, singing their assigned parts as if they were the only people in the building, until their voices melted together in the chorus they had written together.

 _Our secret romance_  
_And even though I want to feel you_  
_All we can do is painfully gaze at each other_  
_The feelings we can't have as girls who are in love with love  
_ _Why do they have to be so painful?_

Nozomi felt a tear rolling down her cheek, but Eli's eyes had so much warmth in them that she couldn't help but smile.

All of her longing, all of the uncertainty that had been bothering her for the past months, the intensity of her love that surprised her from time to time – she was finally able to put all of it into words. Expressing herself like this lifted a huge weight off her shoulder, and she was certain Eli now had to know that Nozomi saw her as more than her best friend.

But she didn't mind anymore. Whatever was going to happen now, she felt at peace.

 _We'll fall asleep in our Flower Garden  
_ _I love your hand as it strokes my hair; more..._

Eli grabbed Nozomi’s hand and guided it to her cheek. They were completely focused on each other and Nozomi could feel herself getting lost in the eyes that were looking at her with more love than she ever expected Eli would be willing to express.

_She loves me._

The realization hit Nozomi and made her feel like she was flying, finally grasping that there was nothing she had to worry about.

 _Our secret romance_  
_And even though I want to feel you_  
_All we can do is painfully gaze at each other_  
_The feelings we can't have as girls who are in love with love  
_ _Why do they have to be so painful?_

The girls moved their hands in front of their bodies. Their palms touched, then they slowly raised them, fingers interlocking, in the air.

Nozomi felt a sudden rush of warmth coming from her heart and wandering through her whole body until it arrived in her fingertips. She was still focused on Eli's gaze and for the first time in ages, she didn't feel like checking whether there was anything appearing on her hands the second they touched Eli's.

Very faintly, she heard the crowd screaming but all she wanted to listen to in this moment was Eli's voice.

She closed her eyes to wallow in everything she was feeling right now.

She knew.

There was no need to look at her skin. It was a feeling she had never dreamed to experience.

The closest thing she could compare it to was feeling _completed._

 _On our secret swing_  
_Swinging with you now_  
_Just gazing at each other softly_  
_A girl who's fallen in love with love; her quiet sigh is_  
_Lonely... contented and lonely...  
_ _A maze of dreams... A maze of lilies..._

The girls' voices grew silent as the cheering of the audience grew louder. The whole performance had felt like an eternity, but one she would be happy to live in.

Finally, out of breath and with a contented smile on her face, she opened her eyes.

Immediately, she was blended by the light, but this time it wasn't just the spotlights.

Slim, glowing lines made their way from their connected fingertips to their hands. A unique pattern more beautiful than Nozomi had imagined could appear on her skin, and the pattern was shining almost as brightly as Eli's smile.

Both were crying by now, not wanting to let go of each other's hands with the knowledge that the glow would disappear until they connected them again.

Nozomi never wanted to stop looking at it, so they just smiled at the audience and walked off the stage hand in hand with the crowd still screaming and cheering about what they had just witnessed.

 “You look a little surprised”, Eli commented as soon as they were behind the stage, wiping a tear from her eye with her free hand.

Nozomi didn't know what to answer. Instead, she let go of her hand only to hug her as tightly as she could, buried her face in Eli's shoulder and started sobbing.

She wasn't surprised.

She was _relieved._

It had never truly been a question to her that she and Eli were meant for each other, which was why it had been so frustrating to see that the universe took its time to confirm it. The reason for that seemed clear as day for her now.  
  
She hadn't been ready until she stopped being impatient. It was almost as if she had wanted to force them becoming soulmates despite knowing that it wasn’t possible - it was a bond that grew and occurred naturally between people.

Their performance was the one moment when Nozomi managed to let go of the constant pressure and anxiety, which likely had been the trigger to their soul-bonding finally happening.  
  
In this moment, Nozomi felt ready to focus on the beautiful relationship she had with her closest friend, at peace knowing that it wasn't the tattoo that would keep them together – it was merely proof that their bond was strong enough to never be broken.

The other girls quickly ran past them and back onto the stage to say goodbye to the audience, and Nozomi thought she heard one of them say the words “Eli and Nozomi are too preoccupied right now, but they say they can't wait to see you again”.

When the u’s members came running through the curtain and joined the hugging couple backstage, Nozomi and Eli let go of each other. The whole group came together in a circle, hugging each other over the joy that now everyone had formed a bond with their soulmate and was in a happy relationship – of course Eli and Nozomi hadn't exactly talked about that yet, but Nozomi no longer felt anxious about what fate had in store for them.

They were meant to be together, she had known it for a long time and it was finally confirmed.

Honoka was the first to say anything after they stopped their group-hug.

 “I can't believe your plan actually worked, Koto-”

A deadly stare from both of Honoka’s girlfriends wasn't quick enough to stop her from revealing more than she should have.

Nozomi blinked in confusion.

 “Plan?”  
“Yeah, thanks, Honoka”, Umi sighed, with no apparent intention to explain anything.  
Nozomi crossed her arms and voiced her presumption.  
“Don't tell me you guys set this up.”  
“Tsk, don’t talk as if all of us had something to do with something like this. I was completely against the idea, just so we're clear.”  
“Stop lying, Maki.”  
“Shut up, Nico.”

 “U-um”, Hanayo now raised her voice, “I really think we should tell them the truth now. It was a little mean of us, after all...”

Everyone eagerly looked at Kotori – Honoka had said enough to imply that this was on her. Kotori seemed really self-satisfied and smiled.

 “Fine, fine, it all worked out in the end, didn't it? So, yes, I developed the plan of making you two sing a duet. However, all the other girls – and I mean all of them, Maki – were talking about how you put too much pressure on yourself to bond with Eli and decided to do something. We noticed how absent-minded and quiet you were all the time, so we figured we needed to give you guys an opportunity to spend some time together and realize that you can only truly become soulmates when both of you are patient and give each other all the time you need to form a bond strong enough.”

The first thing that came to Nozomi's mind was how right Kotori was. Nozomi was always confident in her ability to read people, and the fact that she hadn't noticed this obvious set-up was more than proof enough that she had been worrying too much.

Nozomi once again grabbed Eli's hand – she wanted to see the magical glow again that emerged from their tattoos when they touched another time. The permanent pattern was beautiful even without it, but every touch of their hands created not only glow on the delicate lines, but also bathed Nozomi in a very warm and comfortable feeling.  
  
She faced her partner to ask: “Eli, did you know anything about this?”

Nozomi's soulmate looked at Kotori and smirked.

 “I had a hunch. Heard them whisper something about us during lunch once when they didn't know I was standing outside the door. No offense, but you really were out of it not to notice.”  
 “Well, of course! I didn't know you returned my feelings, so I-”

 “Yep, totally out of it”, Nico groaned and walked off with the words: “You better discuss this privately, but pretty much everyone on the planet knew you two were soulmates.”  
Maki smiled shyly and followed her girlfriend, adding: “Yeah, but you said the same thing about Nico and me once, so I won't make fun of you. Anyway, I'm really happy for you two.”

 “We all are! I'm so happy everyone has found their soulmate!” Rin did a little dance out of excitement and both Nozomi and Eli found themselves blushing over all the attention they were getting.

One by one, the other u's members left to start cleaning up backstage and give the couple some time for themselves.

 “I've known that you were in love with me for a really long time, Nozomi.”

Their hands were touching lightly, the tattoo's light bathing them in a romantic atmosphere.

 “That's why I was so bold before the performance. I figured you were scared and over-thinking everything, so I needed to give you a sign that I would be here once you were ready.”

Nozomi could feel how head over heels she was for her soulmate, pure joy was flowing through her veins.

 “I know. I'm sorry. I'm just so happy to be certain now. That I'm the one destined to be with you.”

 “There's no need to apologize, it wasn't easy all the time for me, either. But I would never want to be with anyone but you. _I love you_ , Nozomi.”

She knew, she had always known, Nozomi realized. It was so natural for them to love each other, but hearing it still made her feel like her heart was going to burst out of all the love she was feeling.

Nozomi leaned closer, gently touching Eli's cheek like they did during the performance.

She whispered: “ _I_   _love you too_.”

And so, they sealed their confession with a kiss.

Being patient was worth it, after all.                                                                

 


End file.
